Benson: Is ISIS losing ground or expanding it?

President Obama claims that ISIS is losing ground as an emboldened, more effective and better trained Iraqi army is seeing increased success in pushing ISIS out of previously seized cities and territories in Syria and Iraq — and as coalition airstrikes/U.S. drone strikes are disrupting ISIS supply lines and oil deliveries, killing its leaders, destroying its infrastructure and disrupting its finances.

However, as ISIS experiences more defeats on the battlefield, it is increasingly turning to terror tactics abroad, targeting civilians in mass killings at airports (Turkey), eateries (Bangladesh), European capitals (Brussels and Paris) and U.S. targets where self-radicalized, ISIS-inspired devotees are launching their own attacks (San Bernardino, Orlando).

What do you think: Are Western tactics designed to confront and ultimately destroy ISIS working?

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FBI investigators work a crime scene outside of the Curtis Culwell Center. Police shot and killed the men after they opened fire on a security officer outside the suburban Dallas venue, which was hosting a contest for Prophet Muhammad cartoons. Ben Torres/Getty Images

A police officer walks around the perimeter of the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. A contest for cartoons depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in the Dallas suburb is on lockdown after authorities reported a shooting outside the building. Gregory Castillo/The Dallas Morning News via AP

A police officer keeps members of the audience inside after reports of shots fired outside after a Dutch member of parliament and leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, Geert Wilders delivered the keynote address at the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest at the Curtis Culwell Center. Larry W. Smith/European PressPhoto Agency

Geert Wilders, a Dutch member of parliament and leader of the far-right Party for Freedom gives the keynote address at the Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest at the Curtis Culwell Center. Larry W. Smith, European PressPhoto Agency